


Stupid Flower

by Skarias



Series: Andraste's Grace [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/F, Idiots in Love, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-14 01:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16030454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skarias/pseuds/Skarias
Summary: It really was just a stupid flower.And because of that fact, that it really was just stupid flower, the warden could neither understand nor fight the hammering of her heart inside her chest or the creeping nervousness that plagued her mind and wouldn't leave her alone.





	Stupid Flower

 

 

 

It really was just a stupid flower.

 

And because of that fact, that it really was just stupid flower, the warden could neither understand nor fight the hammering of her heart inside her chest or the creeping nervousness that plagued her mind and wouldn't leave her alone. The last time Sarah could remembered being this nervous was the day she had received her vallaslin from Keeper Marethari, but at least she knew what she was getting into a long time before the blade began to cut into her skin.

 

This was different. This time she had snuck out of their camp in the middle of the night to pick a stupid flower for a woman, a shemlen woman at that, the warden had only known for a few weeks solely because of the reason that said woman mentioned how important they were to her.

 

She stared at the ivory coloured petals in her hand, the flickering light of the open fire streaming into her tent and offering just enough light to make out most the little details of the flower. It still looked the same way it did when she found it the nearby forest three days ago, the preserving spell Morrigan had cast on it doing it's task brilliantly.

 

The shapeshifter had not asked for what purpose she needed her help and the warden was, for the first time during their travels, rather thankful for the mage's utter lack of interest in the private lives of her companions.

 

Turning her attention back towards the fire, Sarah watched the flames dance in the distance, she knew the bard had to be somewhere close to the warm fire, the cold night air forcing even someone as stubborn as Sten to seek shelter during the night, even if he would never admit that something as mundane as the temperature had been the reason for him doing so.

 

Taking a deep breath, grabbing two cloaks from the stack of clothing next to her and hiding the gift inside her own cloak she got to her feet and made her way towards the center of their makeshift camp. Everyone but Leliana, who's turn it was to hold watch until the warden would have to wake up in a few hours and relieve her. Or that's how it would have happened if Sarah had slept at all.

 

The elf cringed as she took one wrong step and alerted the bard of her presence as the branch beneath her feet cracked audibly, her head whipping around at lightning speed and one hand already flying towards the twin daggers holstered around her hip. Leliana visible relaxed the second she recognized the familiar figure in the dark, her hands dropping back onto the log she was sitting on and her lips shifting into a warm smile. Mythal protect her, that smile would be her undoing.

 

"Sarah? Something wrong? You still have a few hours until your watch begins." the redhead asked, rubbing her hands together in an effort to produce what little warmth she could.

 

"Couldn't sleep." it wasn't technically a lie, even if she would never tell the other woman the reason for her lack of sleep, she offered the cloak to Leliana who mouthed a thank you before gratefully accepting the extra layer of protection against the cold, "Mind if I keep you company?"

 

"I'd like that." Leliana smiled, gesturing the warden to sit next to her.

 

They sat in comfortable silence for a what must have been hours, the soft crackling of the campfire filling the air around them whenever Leliana wasn't busy telling one of her many tales, the warden pulled the warm cloak closer to her body and shivered as the wind began to pick up again. She could feel Andraste's Grace press against her skin and made a decision she wouldn't be able to turn back from.

 

The warden carefully pulled the flower from below her coat, careful not to do any damage the apostate's spell wouldn't be able to prevent. The bard was in the middle of telling a story or another, hands gesturing animatedly in the air and eyes flickering in the light of the fire. Leliana's hands suddenly froze and her voice turned silent once she saw the object in the warden's palm.

 

"You- when you talked about your mother you mentioned how much she loved these flowers." the warden tried to form words, she could feel it becoming harder and harder the longer she looked at the bard.

 

"Andraste's Grace." Leliana all but whispered, her voice barely loud enough for Sarah to hear her, "You...you remembered that? I would have never thought that- thank you." the bard gushed, doing her best to keep her hands from shaking while she took the flower from the warden, her smile broadening as she regarded it, "Now I feel bad I don't have anything to give you in return."

 

"It was nothing." the elf tried, feverishly fighting the blush that threatend to spread across her face, "But if you're dead set on repaying me, it's still some time until dawn and you could tell me another story?"

 

"Oh? And what would you like to hear?" the bard smiled, tucking the white petals behind her ear as she spoke.

 

"You decide, how about one of your favourites?"

 

"That's easy." she began, fully facing the warden and slightly altering her tone to the voice she always used to tell her tales, "Our heroine's tale begins far away. A very, very long time ago there lived a dalish elf together with the Sabrea Clan in a forest mostly untouched by the humans that had settled nearby. She was as stubborn as she was curious and fearless, so one day she stumbled upon an enchanted mirror that she just had to investige. Unfortunately for our heroine, the mirror inflicted her with a terribly curse with only one known cure, joining the mysterious order of the Grey Wardens at their stronghold of Ostagar." her voice grew more dramatic as she retold the events of her past, "While she didn't like being forced away from her clan and walk blindly into unknown lands, she quickly found friends and unlikely allies as she continued her journey to save the world from the darkspawn. Together they're set on a quest to save Thedas from the prime evil of the blight, the Archdemon of legend."

 

"I think I've heard that story before." the warden smiled, the memory of her first awkward meeting with Alistair flashing before her eyes, "Although I would love to know how it ends." Sarah sighed.

 

"You and me both, Sarah. But who knows, maybe there are yet things ahead of us that will pleasantly surprise you." the bard winked, or maybe that was the fire playing tricks on Leliana's face and Sarah's mind, the elf wasn't sure and didn't know if she wanted to be.

 

It was hours later, when the first radiant sunbeams illuminated the campsite around them and the open fire had long burned down that the warden became completely aware of the fact that Leliana hadn't left her side, their hands just close enough to touch on the wooden log below them. She couldn't help but smile once she spotted the flower still stuck behind the bard's ear.


End file.
